Day Three of the tournament on Saturday the 6th August hosted three matches and kept the crowd merry all along. Brief results:
DAY 3
Pool A: Indian Overseas Bank 1 (Vinod Rayar) drew Indian Railways 1 (Innocent Kullu).
Pool B: Army XI 2 (Arumugam, Sunil) defeat Orissa XI 0.
BPCL 5 (Amar Aiyamma 3, Tushar Khandker 1, Hari Prasad 1) defeat Namdhari XI 2 (Malak Singh 1, Karamjit Singh 1).
Match 1 Day 3
Skill against Discipline
The first match of Day 3 was between Army and Orissa. The ebony toned lads from the eastern part of India, Orissa, did trouble the army men throughout, but let them walk with three points. The army men prevailed due sheer smile of Lady Luck. Sheer tenacity in holding positions yet at the same time storming the enemy citadel- the disciplined approach that has earned them the title of the’ best fighting men’in the world which must have become a routine to them considerably assisted in thwarting the nimble footed stick wielding artistes. That the Indian Army did prevail 2-0(at half-time they were leading 1-0) does not tell the tale. Arumugam on in the 18th minute did a solo on the left inside the D cracked a blinder from the corner in the first session. Sunil in the 35th minute netted the second, receiving a wall pass in the D to settle the issue.
Match 2 Day 3
IOB fails to sign for success
The second match of the day maybe did not have the kind of build-up it deserved. Yet it saw Indian Overseas Bank almost pulled the chain on Southern Railways. A feeling of déjà vu prevailed as it was almost a repeat of the banker’s performance earlier against IOC.
IOB lads tried to put the brakes on the railwaymen. The cohesion, the synergy and the gusto with which they counterattacked whilst saving penalty corners or a goal mouth melee were, all admirable. The enthusiasm, the energy and the vitality this team, has set them apart from the others.
They ran the rival defence ragged but failed to clear their own ‘self cheque’ when it mattered most –netting the ball in the goal. Name it inexperience or blame it on luck. They tried, gave their best but failed to score.
Tactically also they faltered, as their right flank flunked and when they corrected, got the goal.
Kuldeep Singh of Railways missed a sitter in the 20th minute off a penalty corner foiled by IOB. At half time IOB went satisfied with a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo raid by Vinod Rayar, an enterprising piece of work in the 25th minute of the game. Almost on the halftime, Sreejeesh, the IOB goalkeeper, staved off another crack at the goal. single-handedly.
The start of the second half saw Innocent Kullu’ s penalty corner crack saved by the redoubtable Sreejeesh. But Kullu was unstoppable and extracted a revenge in the 40th minute with a peach of a penalty corner conversion. The bankmen inadvertently got their entries wrong in the 51st minute after earning a penalty corner. The salvo fired would have reached Bangalore aerially but for the stands! Another corner saw a foul earning them another. Off the next corner which also was an indirect one saw them falling over in excitement missing a sitter!
To their credit (pun intended!) they never gave up and played recklessly like a millionaire at a Las Vegas casino. With ten minutes to go for the hooter, off an attempted Railways penalty corner, the bankmen counterattacked only to miss.
More drama was to follow with a minute to go as Sreejeesh foils yet another Railways corner that came off a counter attack. Almost on the hooter, IOB were rewarded with a corner which they wasted. A lovely hockey match thus came to an end. The bankers who had lost their earlier match to the IOC narrowly have the joy of earning a point. It was Sreejeesh who stood like a wall and deserved all kudos.
The scores at the end read 1-1, luck favouring Baskaran’s boys.
Match 3 Day 3
The faithfuls in whites Vs the Bharat Oilmen
This was supposedly the big match of the day with the Namdharis taking on BPCL.
Traditionally attired in whites as always, the Namdharis present a romanticist image of the game.
But the spectators were more than disappointed as the Namdharis; this batch comprising of rookies sent to gain experience, did not put up a good display. The clinical approach of the oilmen, in particular Amar Aiyanna’s strikes; three in all with a Khandekar and Hari Prasad goal apiece sealed the fate of the Namdharis. The saving grace being the lone goal by Malak Singh in the 65th minute almost after the ‘fat lady had started to sing’!
But these boys in white looked rusty with the glue that bonds a team together missing causing tremendous friction whilst the BPL team played literally like a well oiled machine.
5-1 and the score said it all.
Sunday’s schedule
Pool A: Mumbai XI Vs Indian Railways (2.15 pm)
Karnataka XI Vs IOC (5.45 pm)
Pool B: Namdhari XI Vs Army XI (4 pm)